Tuaran PKR has announced that it will support Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s candidates in Sulaman, Pantai Dalit, Tamparuli and Kiulu in the state election, while also severing ties with Upko.
Its chief, Razeef Rakimin, said this was decided at a Nov 8 division meeting discussing, among others, preparations for the Sabah polls.
“Among the key decisions was Tuaran PKR‘s immediate termination of its relationship with Upko,” he said in a statement.
Razeef said the meeting also discussed providing support to allied parties in the event that any constituency under Tuaran was not included in PKR’s candidate announcement on Nov 9.
“Given the current situation and the decision by Umno not to assist PKR’s Sindumin candidate, the division’s political bureau has decided to support candidates from GRS in Sulaman, Pantai Dalit, Tamparuli and Kiulu,” he said.
He said this decision was reaffirmed by the division’s political bureau today.
PKR has named Yamani Hafez Musa, whose membership was subject to much speculation, to contest in Sindumin, held by Warisan previously.
Yamani, who is Sabah governor Musa Aman’s eldest son, is a former deputy finance minister II. He won the Sipitang parliamentary seat on a Barisan Nasional ticket in the 2018 general election. He later joined Bersatu and did not defend the seat in the 2022 elections.
Sulaman is expected to see a five-cornered fight with GRS chairman Hajiji Noor defending the seat against Dr Shahnon Rizal Thaijuddin (BN), Siti Aminah Ele (PN), Mokthar Husin (Warisan) and Pajudin Nordin (Parti Impian Sabah).
GRS’s Jasnih Daya will also face BN candidate Alfian Sambas in a multi-cornered fight in Pantai Dalit. However, in Tamparuli and Kiulu, there is no competition between candidates from BN and GRS.
For Tamparuli, GRS has named Bonaventure Boniface as its candidate, and in Kiulu, Parti Bersatu Sabah’s Joniston Bangkuai is set to defend the seat for GRS.
